Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Previously on Alicia Rising. Dear friends, there is a warehouse in Dustry Hill. I urgently require an item from my inventory within the warehouse. Returning it to my stronghold would be greatly appreciated.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: I thought I might tempt you from the office stool once again. Fairfax.
[00:00:23] Speaker A: Yes, it's always a pleasure. What can I do for you, sir?
[00:00:26] Speaker B: I pass him a little piece of paper with the address of this warehouse.
[00:00:30] Speaker A: Amringer. Yes, that warehouse. Amringer and daughters. And in the road leading up to the warehouse, the both of you recognize these individuals. They are wearing the tabard of the shield of Alicia Cavern. And atta, you see a group of charging guard tearing up the hill behind you.
[00:00:52] Speaker C: Oh, no.
[00:00:53] Speaker A: Go down. Down on the ground. Don't move. Don't move. And Magpie, you're up on the roof, and you know that whatever time you did have is now significantly reduced.
[00:01:06] Speaker C: I just. I get on with it. Humid. In a flash.
[00:01:16] Speaker D: Welcome to Alicia, the jewel of the north. On our gilded streets, fortune and fame can be found by anyone.
[00:01:27] Speaker C: Hi, I'm Julia, and I'm playing Magpie, an ace of our lurk.
[00:01:32] Speaker E: Hi, I'm Nate, and I'm playing cavern, a dragon scent slide.
[00:01:38] Speaker C: Hi, I'm Meg. I'm playing Frida, a wolfkin cutter.
[00:01:43] Speaker B: Hi, I'm JC, and I'll be playing Algonon, an ace of r spider.
[00:01:48] Speaker D: Hello, I'm Errol. I am playing Atta, a goblin whisper.
[00:01:53] Speaker A: And my name is DM Dan. I will be the games master on this adventure.
[00:01:58] Speaker D: Now, come on in and marvel at our wonders. Make sure you see the beautiful views we have to offer. And don't mind the ghosts. They're friendly, really. Grab yourselves a seat and make yourselves welcome in the city of Alicia.
[00:02:21] Speaker A: Hello, and welcome back to explorers of elsewhere's Alicia Rising.
I am DM Dan. These are my beautiful crew, and we find them at the start of a very easy job that has suddenly become significantly more difficult.
[00:02:42] Speaker C: Who to thunk it?
[00:02:43] Speaker E: Yeah, thanks, Nusto.
[00:02:47] Speaker A: So let us jump straight into it.
We find Magpie about to kind of breach, sneak into the warehouse that this kind of magical artifact that musto has requested you retrieve is stored in the streets below Cavern and Atta. You currently find yourself sandwiched between shield bearers of the shield of Alicia in front of you and some city watch tearing up the hill behind you.
Given that you are sort of, like, right in the face of it. Ata Cavern. What are you doing?
You are in a desperate position.
[00:03:42] Speaker D: Do you have ideas, Cavern? Because the only ideas that I had, I have two. One is flashback to, like, a hodgepodge item that Atta made that was made to look baby magical and they just kind of huck it at the one in front and point.
Or some kind of explosive.
That's a less refined idea, explode them all. Some kind of explosive, I think, like.
[00:04:17] Speaker E: An explosive sort of like that, maybe something that Atta had rigged like earlier and was prepared to use it later if things got a bit hairy on the escape. But considering that it's just kicked off right now, probably has decided to go, like, well, better time than any, and actually set it off somewhere not too far away to maybe distract them.
[00:04:53] Speaker A: As a we aside, given that you find yourself in such a tricky situation, cavern, you do turn your mind to your innate eminent divinity, which, as we all know, you may spend your special armor to automatically pass a role, but you accrue an additional two heat.
So as you channel your draconic essence, you're able to cow.
You'll be able to fundamentally divinely brute force your way through this, but everyone will know about the dragon scent that went supernova.
So just putting that on the table as well.
[00:05:46] Speaker C: What was your thought, Errol?
[00:05:48] Speaker D: Well, I was thinking if it's obviously a little bit much to have actually constructed something that can do something even rudimentarily arcane and have it kind of be remotely set off somewhere nearby to distract, but you could probably rig something that belches a load of purple smoke, the kind of purple that the bubble is, and kind of use somebody's charming talkie powers to convince people that the purple smoke is.
The bubble is failing.
[00:06:24] Speaker C: Let's just spread panic.
[00:06:28] Speaker D: I mean, I think that's fun. Are you into it?
[00:06:30] Speaker C: Yeah, let's go for it.
[00:06:34] Speaker E: That was our flashback.
[00:06:35] Speaker D: There we go.
[00:06:36] Speaker A: So we are flashing back to Ata, creating what is effectively like a timed smoke bomb.
[00:06:47] Speaker D: Yeah, a timed smoke bomb. Or like something that can be remotely activated.
[00:06:54] Speaker A: Sure. What you choose, timed or remote?
[00:06:57] Speaker D: I would say remote because this is a surprise. Right. Because we.
[00:07:04] Speaker A: Okay.
In which case, and it's designed that there's enough poof behind it that it will cause enough of a distraction for you to make a getaway. That was the intention of it. But I think in the time that you have, that would be quite stressful. I'm going to say, you know what? I'm going to go hard on this because everything's so hard, so desperate right now. I'm going to say too stressed for this and then roll me a tinker.
[00:07:39] Speaker D: Okay, what's the risky standard or desperate?
[00:07:47] Speaker A: So it'll be a.
Well, it'll be a control because this is back in time.
So a controlled standard.
[00:08:01] Speaker D: Okay.
How much stress is it to push yourself? It's two in it.
[00:08:06] Speaker A: Yeah.
Pardon me. Yeah, you already had to go ham. Just kind of getting everything together as quickly as you can.
And perhaps some of your stress is thinking this isn't your best work, but it doesn't need to be pretty. Just needs to work.
[00:08:24] Speaker D: Okay.
I won't push myself for an extra dice because I am getting quite close up there with the stress, but I kind of feel like that's a mistake.
I'll just roll and not look.
[00:08:41] Speaker A: Okay.
What does your little remote. What does your remote destination thing look like?
[00:08:49] Speaker D: I feel like, and this is because I've been watching silly ghost stuff recently. You know, the people that keep the thing in the toe of their boot. I feel like it's in the toe of a boot.
So it's sort of a bit of a weird dance. Wiggle and then presses it.
[00:09:13] Speaker A: Okay, so you trigger it and you look at Cavern, and you kind of give him that eyes, the look to say, I'm doing it. I'm pressing the button. And as you press down on the button with your toe. With your big toe in your boot, you feel the click under your toe.
And there's a rather loud bang from one of the buildings off to the left. And, like, a window pops from the pressure and purple smoke billows out into the charging guard, and it throws them. You hear cries of confusion, like coughing and spluttering.
And the shield bearer in front. And you know that it was kind of designed to kind of fill the whole area. But as you look at the shield bearer and sort of, like, smile, you realize that the gas was perhaps. The smoke is perhaps a bit too heavy. And instead of expanding outwards, it starts just kind of rolling back down the hill over the guard. So they're coughing and spluttering. And the shield bearer in front of you is shocked, looks a bit distracted, but she's not completely off your tail.
So it's a reduced effect. It's effectively distracted the guard, but not the shield bearers. Not the shield of Alicia in this moment. Cavern, what do you do?
[00:10:45] Speaker E: I think Cavern is.
Yeah, I think Catherine is going to go with the plan and sort of go like. Just kind of go like, oh, my God, the veil.
[00:10:57] Speaker A: It's failing.
That sound. Okay, rock, hit me with a sway.
It will be a desperate standard.
So I will say that the bang might have shaken this poor woman's resolve a little bit. Say desperate standard.
[00:11:23] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:11:26] Speaker E: Love to see it?
[00:11:27] Speaker A: Okay.
In which case, the shield bearer in front of you, the one that clocked you earlier, she looks shocked enough, and you see her sort of begin to hesitate and panic long enough, like she's distracted enough that you're able to sort of creep around her and then make a break for it. Wherever it is you want to make a break, where is it that you're heading to?
So, to paint the picture effectively, you're at the end of a long street with these kind of warehouse buildings all the way down behind you. There's the purple smoke wafting down dusty hill, and there's the sounds of, like, coughing and spluttering. City watch within that kind of gas cloud. You know, it's not going to contain them for long, but for now, they're kind of relatively incapacitated. You can see that the second warehouse along is the one that magpie is about to breach into.
And that there's a couple of very confused looking shield of Alicia like shield bearers stood out the front of this warehouse. They've wondered what this bang was. They're wondering what the shouting and commotion.
Yeah, they are kind of guarding the front door still.
[00:12:44] Speaker D: Catherine, do we leave Magpie to it or do we try and stick around and help vibes.
[00:12:57] Speaker E: I think it may be probably best that we try and distract the guards as much as possible so that Magpie can get a good enough amount of time in there to find it, because obviously she doesn't know where it is.
[00:13:09] Speaker C: Buy me time.
[00:13:11] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:13:12] Speaker E: Unless you want to sneak in there and try and help. And Katherine, stick outside, just waves his arms about and tries to pushes the smoke a little bit more into people's face.
[00:13:27] Speaker D: Magpie, how's your tinker?
[00:13:29] Speaker C: My tinker?
[00:13:31] Speaker D: How's your tinker?
[00:13:32] Speaker C: Okay, it's one.
[00:13:35] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:13:36] Speaker C: One in tinker.
[00:13:37] Speaker D: I'm not very sneaky, so I can try and get in and help you with Tinker if we think that things are locked, the only thing I need to help distract is I've got a bit of.
[00:13:51] Speaker C: You know, I reckon with the combined powers of my own and JC's flashbacks, I can probably do the warehouse bit. If you can buy me some time.
[00:14:04] Speaker A: Sure. Okay, well, tell you what. We flashback to you, Magpie.
In the commotion, you've been able to unlock this relatively standard lock window on the second floor of this warehouse. And as you move inside and the commotion outside kind of dulls down a little, you find yourself kind of like an. It almost looks like an attic. Like a standard house attic. The second floor of this warehouse, but it's also full of boxes covered in drapes and so on and so forth.
A lot of the boxes have been kind of pried open, the kind of tarpaulins and drapes cast aside. It seems like it's kind of been ransacked a little bit by the shield of Alicia.
But it dawns on you that it's going to take some time to find the orb. So I present the find the orb clock.
[00:15:04] Speaker C: Find the orb clock.
[00:15:07] Speaker A: However, you also know that within a certain amount of time, the watch will kind of emerge. And you reckon it would be an amount of time before they enter into the warehouse.
[00:15:24] Speaker C: I have a question. Yes.
Did we not have some clue what size objects should be on which level of this warehouse?
[00:15:34] Speaker A: So, you know, it's sort of like a two footish sphere, quite sizey. But that's the sort of thing that will be stored upstairs.
[00:15:42] Speaker C: So I'm focusing my search upstairs.
[00:15:45] Speaker A: Correct.
[00:15:46] Speaker C: Okay, sure.
How am I finding it? Let's have a look at my little skill set. I mean, survey sounds appropriate, but it's not my best skill.
I mean, I feel as if survey is what it is I'm beginning to search through. I'm throwing dust covers off things or searching shelves or whatever it is, to identify this big, round object.
Have I got old Tom's picture? Am I holding it.
[00:16:23] Speaker A: Mean. Sure. I would suggest that because survey is a bit more big picture.
[00:16:29] Speaker C: Sure.
You're in a desperate study. Is it?
[00:16:33] Speaker A: You're in a desperate position, but you can do the survey, but that will have a limited effect.
[00:16:39] Speaker C: Can I do finesse because I'm pirouetting around the place, trying to go as fast as possible?
[00:16:45] Speaker A: I would say probably yes, but it would still be limited. And that would represent you kind of picking your way through the debris because this place looks like it's partly ransacked.
[00:17:02] Speaker C: Yeah, exactly.
[00:17:04] Speaker A: I might also offer wreck. I would offer study.
[00:17:11] Speaker C: I haven't got any pips in either of them, so I'd rather go finesse. Right. Would study or rec get me a.
[00:17:17] Speaker A: Better result, you suspect?
It seems like you're kind of looking for a needle in the haystack. So you reckon study would be your best shout, but rec would mean you just continue on the ramp testing.
[00:17:32] Speaker B: Yes, I can assist.
[00:17:34] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:17:35] Speaker B: Using foresight.
[00:17:38] Speaker A: Okay. And what does that look like?
[00:17:41] Speaker B: So we flash back to the dark room in Codwalla Damana. You remember the ensuite bathroom in which the bathtub has been converted into sort of chemical vat for developing of photographs.
And we see emerging from a piece of photographic paper, an image.
[00:18:13] Speaker A: I think I might be able to help you here. The image is like a higher resolution blueprint of the. Of the warehouse.
On that blueprint, you notice that the upstairs dimensions don't match up quite right, suggesting that there is a hidden room of some.
[00:18:37] Speaker C: OMG. So I'm going to go look for that hidden room.
[00:18:41] Speaker A: Yeah. So with that, if you wanted to do, for example, a study to try and sniff it out, if you're happy to do.
[00:18:51] Speaker C: Can I study and push myself, please, to get an extra die on roll?
[00:18:57] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:18:58] Speaker C: So I add role. What is this? Is this a risk? One from me and one from JC, is that correct? So, plus two, that means I'll be rolling.
[00:19:10] Speaker A: So at the moment, you're desperate.
So it's desperate. Limited.
[00:19:17] Speaker C: Limited.
Even with the study, because you said that would be the best thing to do.
[00:19:23] Speaker A: Sorry, you're doing study. Yes, sorry. Desperate standard. Correct.
[00:19:27] Speaker C: Okay. Right.
And how many is it? Two. Stress I take for cells.
[00:19:33] Speaker A: Correct.
[00:19:34] Speaker C: Put that on and.
[00:19:40] Speaker A: Foresight is for free. So a five.
Okay.
You kind of gloss over a lot of the trashed boxes because you know that what you're looking for are telltale signs on the walls, on joins part. The macero, like, what around here? Looks like it's supporting something that it shouldn't be supporting. A partial success, I believe.
Oh, severe harm. Complicated.
Okay, so we're going to say you get two pips on find me orb.
[00:20:19] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:20:20] Speaker A: And the watch begin to make their way out. Okay.
We'll flick back to Cavern and Ata.
How are you buying magpie more time?
[00:20:39] Speaker E: I mean, can we see?
Can we see ghosties up in the sky?
[00:20:49] Speaker A: Outside, there are ghostly faces smooshed against the veil over your heads.
[00:20:57] Speaker E: Catherine's going to go atta. I've seen you do this before.
Can you make them go a bit dulaly again?
[00:21:07] Speaker D: Do lally? Well, I suppose if I've brought something with me in my loadout, that helps with that.
Dan, I've been looking at some of the things that whisper can take in their loadout, and some of it is like blaze in the dark, like vanilla flavor. So there's the hook where you can grapple a spirit, but I don't know if there's reflavored Elysia stuff that could potentially be whisper related, Ghostbuster style.
[00:21:40] Speaker A: Yeah, if there wasn't, I'm sure, reading the description, a long two handed pole with a loop of heavy wire at the end connected to, let's say, a lightning capacitor suitable for grappling a spirit and dragging it into a spirit bottle, it collapses into a compact form. I reckon that's something that attas probably just made herself.
[00:22:04] Speaker D: Okay, well, I put together this weird thing. I mean, I was going to check with Alganon whether I should use it on a job before use, but I guess now is a good time to try.
[00:22:18] Speaker E: Better now than never, I would say.
[00:22:20] Speaker A: I think if we first and only option is the nuclear one.
[00:22:26] Speaker E: I think if we just get them to believe that something is happening to the veil, it may buy us a little bit more time.
[00:22:36] Speaker D: Okay.
I trust you. Okay.
[00:22:40] Speaker E: I wouldn't do that, but go ahead.
[00:22:44] Speaker A: Okay. So what's the plan with the lightning hook?
[00:22:47] Speaker D: I think if there is a factory building that has a reasonably easy access to get to the roof, even though it might take a little while to get to the roof, I think setting up there is probably going to be better.
[00:23:05] Speaker A: I mean, are you looking to fish?
[00:23:08] Speaker D: Potentially, yeah.
And just kind of like try and I guess trebuchet.
I don't think that's the correct use of a trebuchet, but yeah, trebuchet it towards that we don't like.
[00:23:30] Speaker A: Okay, sure.
The two of you are kind of breaking down the street. You have this really quick conversation while there's kind of commotion. You see some of the shield bearers kind of looking each other. They're starting to move around, like seeing what the commotion is. What that purple smoke is opposite there is a warehouse with an access ramp, like an access stairwell to the second floor and then up onto the roof.
So yeah, if you want to go up there and fundamentally fish a spirit through the veil, you can.
[00:24:08] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, atta really wants to do that.
[00:24:12] Speaker A: Roll me a.
Okay. Because you have to get this right. So roll me a tinker because you're using your doodad. It's going to be desperate.
[00:24:23] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:24:25] Speaker A: And it's going to be standard because it's a fine lightning hook. So the quality bumps up to a standard.
[00:24:34] Speaker E: Can I help in any way?
[00:24:37] Speaker A: Do you wanna.
Yeah, I'll help.
How are you thinking of helping?
[00:24:48] Speaker E: Just with pure go cheerleading in the background?
[00:24:55] Speaker A: Okay, sure. In which case, yeah. Cavern, you take one stress and atta, you may get an extra dice.
[00:25:05] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:25:06] Speaker A: So you're effectively looking at sort of like reeling a spirit in and then lobbing it at the shield bearers and the guards.
[00:25:14] Speaker D: Yeah, let's do it.
[00:25:21] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:25:22] Speaker D: Grandma.
Grandma.
[00:25:26] Speaker A: Ever since Algonon said the words, the veil is fading from Tavarian's note, you've thought about this moment. And for the first time ever. As you kind of swing this stick with a lightning infused manor crystal attached to the end, a beam of lightning arcs out and sort of like zigzags up towards the inner surface of the veil.
And you watch as the blue kind of light pierces through the field itself and snares around this screaming spirit. And like a comedy fisher, desperately tug and pull, like wheeling on the little handle to reduce the lightning lure.
Like, you feel your blood start to chill as the scream of this spirit becomes audible as it's pulled through the veil into Alicia.
And you wonder if this is the first time a spirit has moved through the veil since the veil was erected.
And as this spirit kind of thrashes, it looks at you for a moment ata and sort of, like, gains its bearings. And as it starts hurtling towards you, you manage to swing it, and it flings down the street.
And you see it hurtles down the street.
The female lorevar shield bearer that you were speaking to originally, Catherine, she's still shocked and confused, and she finally decides to take some affirmative action, turns around just in time to get face slammed by this spirit. And you watch as she's lifted up off the ground. She starts screaming and thrashing like the sledgehammer drops to the floor with a clang. And you see the spirit begin lifting her up and effectively, its mouth begins to engorge and enlarge as it creates this sucking motion. And you see her like, her screams getting louder and then quieter as she, like, her limbs start to go a bit limp.
Cool. Anything else?
[00:27:58] Speaker C: Did you just do a murder?
[00:28:03] Speaker A: Not.
[00:28:06] Speaker D: We were a few.
[00:28:07] Speaker C: Like, did you just have a go for, you unleashed a spirit?
[00:28:13] Speaker A: She's still got some stuff in there. Algonon, is there anything?
Like from the barge? You look up and see this flash of blue light as this beam arcs up to the veil and starts.
You swear for a moment you can see like, a wriggling at the end of this beam of lightning, but there's this kind of horrendous scream that emanates across the area. Is there anything you're doing in this moment?
[00:28:42] Speaker B: I look up to the sky and I crack a rye smile because I know this is all part of the plan.
I would like to flash back and suggest some ways in which Algonon has orchestrated this event by being deliberately overheard by whomever overhears him. He assumes it's one of his old colleagues from the intelligence corps. Yeah, so he would have spoken to some old boy that he knows is in their pocketbook, notoriously for playing both sides?
[00:29:25] Speaker A: Sure.
Also, you being overheard whilst you were doing your investigation. That was on purpose?
[00:29:31] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:29:32] Speaker A: Okay.
Because obviously the best way to deal with the ghost is if there's a lot of kind of guards and religious clerical science.
[00:29:41] Speaker B: I think we've been given this intelligence, which is that the veil is failing. It would be useful if other people believed it.
[00:29:49] Speaker A: Very good.
[00:29:50] Speaker B: Okay, now, the shield of Alicia, their primary concern is the safety of the veil and keeping spirits away. So if we did a big display where there was a sort of ghost infraction involving those two factions, we might get some irons in the fire.
[00:30:10] Speaker A: Okay, you know what?
I enjoy that. What I'm going to do is I'm going to simply say, take one stress. Because whilst it was all part of the plan, seeing this ghost emerge, like, in your living space, is a bit unnerving. But I will return the position from desperate back to risky because now the heat is off these three, it's more.
[00:30:44] Speaker B: On the ghost and everything's going according to plan.
[00:30:48] Speaker A: Everything's going according to plan. Okay, Magpie, you hear this, like, bellowing from outside and you think, oh, this is the bit where, like, pulls a ghost through the veil already.
[00:31:07] Speaker C: They're already pulling ghosts. I haven't got any time. I've got to get on with it.
[00:31:12] Speaker A: Sure. What do you do?
[00:31:14] Speaker C: I mean, I guess I'm just going to carry on doing what I was doing.
I can smell this secret room. I've got to find it.
[00:31:24] Speaker A: Yeah.
I will offer you a devil's bargain.
[00:31:32] Speaker C: Yes, please.
[00:31:35] Speaker A: No matter what happens.
[00:31:36] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:31:38] Speaker A: One of the shield bearers enters into the warehouse for safety.
[00:31:45] Speaker C: But they'll be downstairs. It's fine. I can prowl about. I'll take it.
[00:31:51] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:31:52] Speaker C: In which case, I'm going to push myself again and take the devil's bargain. So I'm going to roll two.
[00:32:01] Speaker A: Also, heads up, anyone who's rolled a desperate roll, which I think has been quite a few of you, remember to mark your XP on your relevant XP transition.
[00:32:10] Speaker C: I don't think I have rolled anything desperate.
[00:32:13] Speaker E: You have.
[00:32:13] Speaker C: Is it still risky standard or is it now?
[00:32:18] Speaker A: It is now risky standard gear, because you're still playing by Algonon's advice.
If you wanted to go desperate, I'll give you a greater outcome.
[00:32:31] Speaker C: So desperate. Great. I will take it.
[00:32:36] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:32:37] Speaker C: I will take it.
Let's go.
Four.
[00:32:44] Speaker A: Okay, so I'm going to say we'll work on the reduced effect so it drops it back to a standard, but that is still.
[00:32:56] Speaker C: That's enough to fill.
[00:32:57] Speaker A: Enough to fill the wall.
[00:32:59] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:33:00] Speaker A: You tick up your resolve.
Sorry. Inside. Tick up your inside XP track.
[00:33:09] Speaker C: Oh, hooray.
[00:33:11] Speaker A: So you find, as you're scouring along, you hear the footsteps and you hear a voice coming from through the floor. Floors by the God the shield bearer beneath is visibly panicking. Audibly panicking, I should say. But you just kind of use that as, like, the stress to make a diamond to get the result you want. And you find, like, the latch that you pull down and a segment of a partition of the wall swings open into a small little area that is full of dusty tones. Trinkets like chests, loot boxes. Like loot lock boxes. Sorry.
And despite being covered by a drape, you notice a large, spherical, two foot ish orb on a shelf on the far side of this small little kind of cubby room.
[00:34:15] Speaker C: I'm going to check it's definitely the right thing, and then I'm going to take the whole thing, including the COVID Sure.
[00:34:21] Speaker A: So, as you lift it up, the orb itself is effectively clear. It's like a large glass orb with these kind of gold bands. And up close, you can see that there are fine, tiny kind of runic symbols inscribed along these bands, and none of them are actually touching the orb. They just seem like they can move kind of in all various kind of directions. So it gets a bit awkward to actually hold. Grab the kind of the glass, because if you hold the orb, it starts just kind of rotating in your hands and whatnot. You manage to grab the orb.
You found that and you're able to make your escape.
[00:35:03] Speaker C: I am, yeah.
Off I go.
[00:35:08] Speaker A: Cavern and Atta, you can hear the screams of this ghost mixing with the fading screams of the shield bearer.
What are you two doing now?
[00:35:21] Speaker D: Well, we got it down. What do we do now?
[00:35:24] Speaker A: I don't know. I didn't think past this point.
Well, what I will say is, at this point, given all of the perfectly timed distraction, the two of you see magpie kind of emerge from the window that she entered in from with this large. Did you swaddle it?
[00:35:45] Speaker C: It's in the sort of dust cover that was over it.
[00:35:48] Speaker A: So you see her emerge, like, carrying this massive orb.
So perhaps you realize that it's now time to escape.
[00:36:01] Speaker C: Make like a tree.
[00:36:02] Speaker E: Let's get out of here.
[00:36:07] Speaker A: Did you want to group action it, or did you want to do things separately? Are you splitting up? Are you moving as a pack?
[00:36:15] Speaker C: I reckon magpie is going to do what she does best and she's going to prowl over the roofs.
And you lot do what you want, do whatever you feel is best, but we'll be going off in the same.
[00:36:33] Speaker E: Think. And if Ata agrees, I think both Atta and Catherine are just going to run off in the direction that they originally came from to look like they're just escaping, they're just getting away from what is happening.
[00:36:45] Speaker A: So you're kind of carrying down.
Yeah.
Okay.
In which case, are you trying to do it in such a way that you are avoiding attention as opposed to, like, waving your hands above your head?
[00:37:05] Speaker E: Yeah, I think if we do make a big scene, just kind of go.
[00:37:08] Speaker A: Like, oh, my God, it's a ghost.
[00:37:11] Speaker E: Like that. I think it's going to look.
[00:37:15] Speaker D: Oh, no, Carrie. Finish. Finish.
[00:37:17] Speaker E: I was going to say it's going to look more like we weren't involved.
[00:37:24] Speaker D: Whatever we do, if we do it in the opposite direction that Magpie is going, then we again reduce the potential of her.
[00:37:33] Speaker A: So, looking at the map realistically, the opposite direction would be the direction of the ghost and the watch and the very angry shield of Lisa. So you'd all have to be effectively heading south to get to the canal where the barge is.
[00:37:49] Speaker E: Yeah. Okay, let's head to the canal. Let's go off running and screaming.
[00:37:54] Speaker C: Okay, excellent.
[00:37:58] Speaker A: Okay.
I never thought I'd say this like a flea through the streets, but it seems like you're almost trying to influence the area around you, are you not? You're trying to draw attention to what is happening.
[00:38:16] Speaker E: Yeah, I think if we can draw more attention to what's actually happening with the ghost and the guard and the shield, then it will look that way. Then hopefully it will mean then we can slip out sort of undetected, hopefully to remove some heat at the end of.
[00:38:34] Speaker A: Okay, well, just to jump in. Algonon, is there anything that you would have thought of for this stage of the plan?
Not currently perfectly happening right now.
[00:38:51] Speaker B: We could. The guards who are drawn to our suspicious behavior, they encounter a woman pushing a pram, and then they go, they rip the blanket off the pram, and it's absolutely nothing inside.
[00:39:12] Speaker A: Okay.
The whole pram plan was a diversion, and it was a red herring. And in fact, Magpie is just going to have to hoof it through the.
[00:39:26] Speaker C: Streets carrying this thing over the roof to the barge.
[00:39:31] Speaker B: I want to employ some of the squatters in the area, several women to go around pushing prams, identical prams.
[00:39:41] Speaker C: I love it. Decoy prams.
[00:39:45] Speaker A: To get them on board.
That sounds like a consort. And I think I'll ask for another one. Stress to kind of get them to be on board with it.
[00:39:58] Speaker B: Is it risky standard?
[00:39:59] Speaker A: I'm going to say at the time, it's a risky standard. Yeah.
[00:40:03] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:40:08] Speaker A: Finally.
Okay. In which case, we'll bear that in mind. We got success there.
Cavern and Atta. I am going to ask for a group sway as you try to convince people to look this way and. Ah, look, there's a ghost. Help.
Look over there, not here. Who's leading?
[00:40:39] Speaker E: I will lead on if you won't.
[00:40:43] Speaker D: Yeah, well, I mean, I've got. No, you probably should, because if I get more than four, I'm traumatized.
[00:40:52] Speaker A: Okay, yeah. I'm going to say risky standard.
[00:40:57] Speaker E: Risky standard. Do I get any modifiers?
[00:41:01] Speaker A: Only if you were to push yourself or as a devil's bargain, a second patrol of watch appear at the end of the street, forcing you to take a slightly more complex route through the alleyways.
[00:41:25] Speaker E: I think I'm going to just push myself. Okay, so that's one stress.
[00:41:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
Two stress. Two stress.
Atta, are you pushing yourself?
[00:41:41] Speaker D: Okay, so a group roll means that I.
[00:41:44] Speaker A: So you both roll the sway.
[00:41:47] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:41:47] Speaker A: And then if you fail, cavern takes a stress.
[00:41:51] Speaker D: Takes the stress of the roll. Like, if I rolled it two, then he'd take two stress.
[00:41:57] Speaker A: Take one stress.
[00:41:58] Speaker D: Just one stress.
[00:41:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:42:00] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:42:00] Speaker A: And then the highest roll between you is the one that you both get.
[00:42:04] Speaker D: Okay.
It's just a risky standard.
[00:42:15] Speaker A: Okay. Cavern, you take an additional stress.
[00:42:19] Speaker E: I'm going to need to vice it.
[00:42:20] Speaker A: Up tonight, but as you're running through the street, that is going, oh, no, there's a ghost. She's looking backwards, I assume at the ghost a bit too much. Like, with a bit too much curiosity.
[00:42:40] Speaker E: I like to think that Catherine's, like, grabbed hold of the scruff of her neck and just kind of go, we'll work on your acting skills later.
[00:42:47] Speaker A: Come on.
Yeah. Kavrin, you have to push yourself to really sell what's happening to the point where you're subconsciously telling people that this poor little goblin was just catatonic.
But, yeah.
So you roll a six. So that is two segments on the clock.
Magpie.
[00:43:20] Speaker C: I'm going to roll my prowl to have it away on my toes, tops, with this big ball.
[00:43:25] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:43:26] Speaker C: Risky standard.
[00:43:28] Speaker A: Yeah, it's four.
Okay.
As you're running and jumping, like, you leap from rooftop to rooftop, and with your aerial view, you're able to kind of pick out the best places, the best routes, kind of thing.
[00:43:49] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:43:51] Speaker A: You hear some kind of shield bearers, like, scouting the area, kind of looking around, seeing what's happening. They've been drawn into the commotion, which means you have to take, like, a hard right. When you were planning to take a hard left, the hard right takes you onto a sloped bit of roof and you lose your footing slightly. You kind of bang your elbow and you have to slide down. But as you hit the kind of. The small kind of brick ledge at the bottom of this roof, which kind of knocks you back up into an upright position, you hear a worrying clonk. As this orb hits the brick wall, there is a complication.
[00:44:32] Speaker C: I don't want that.
[00:44:33] Speaker A: No. Okay.
[00:44:34] Speaker C: I don't want it.
[00:44:35] Speaker A: You don't want it?
[00:44:36] Speaker C: No.
So I want to roll my prowess to resist, and if this goes badly, I will get trauma.
Unless we're happy for the thing that we were specifically tasked to get being broken.
No, I don't think.
[00:44:58] Speaker E: Doesn't need to know it's broken.
[00:45:00] Speaker A: So you need to roll.
If you're resisting, you will need to roll a three or more to not gain trauma.
[00:45:09] Speaker C: Yes.
Okay, so this is my prowess, right?
[00:45:16] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:45:17] Speaker C: And will that mean I get three dice for it? Because I've got three skills filled in.
I reckon I can get a three on three dice.
Yeah.
[00:45:31] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:45:33] Speaker C: And it is just how it is. This is straight roll. This is how it be. Okay, I got a six.
[00:45:44] Speaker A: Serious stress. As you're sliding down, knock it. As you're sliding down, you see this ledge and knowing with your arms out where they are, you kind of turn your back and form it into a roll and use your momentum to roll over the small brick bit and kind of land on a catwalk. And you open your eyes and you check and everything seems okay. And then you carry on running.
Okay. Ignore.
[00:46:10] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:46:11] Speaker A: You negate the complication.
[00:46:13] Speaker C: Thank you. Great.
[00:46:15] Speaker A: Algonon, what was the last stage of the expert escape plan?
[00:46:25] Speaker B: Well, I'm hoping we're going to get it on the barge and sail away from the commotion.
[00:46:31] Speaker A: Sure.
Because I've got an idea that because the barge would have a presumably have pilot, not a driver, a boat's person.
Like someone in your crew. There is an as of yet unnamed NPC commanding the boat, so it could always be a command to take off, make it quick.
[00:47:03] Speaker B: Or we could do like, a group prowl with all of us on board.
[00:47:09] Speaker A: Yeah. With you leading it.
[00:47:11] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:47:12] Speaker A: Okay, that sounds good. I mean, in which case, then as you kind of look up at the. You can hear the sounds of the carnage happening up on this street outside, amringers and daughters, and you see cavern and Atta come tearing around one corner, like Ata, almost being dragged along by the dragonsent set.
And then there's, from the shadows, emerges like Magpie, carrying this huge two foot round orb. And as she leaps onto the barge and the other two join you.
Yeah.
You gun it as best as you can. In a barge. Yeah, by all means, you can do a group prowl.
[00:47:58] Speaker C: Cool. Group prowl. And is JC leading this prowl?
[00:48:04] Speaker A: Alvin is leading.
Okay, so if everyone makes me a prowl. And you may push it if you want to.
Okay.
[00:48:18] Speaker B: I expect it to fail.
[00:48:21] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:48:24] Speaker D: I'll push myself, I guess. For what is it two stress?
[00:48:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:48:29] Speaker D: Does that help? If I push myself.
[00:48:33] Speaker C: You get an extra die.
[00:48:36] Speaker B: I can afford three stress if three of us fail.
[00:48:39] Speaker A: Okay, but if you push yourself, you have more chance of rolling a six for the group.
[00:48:46] Speaker D: Okay, I'll push myself to get an extra dice. Why not? We're all vicing tonight.
[00:48:52] Speaker A: We're all vicing.
[00:48:54] Speaker B: I could have this as my second foresight assist and give you one for free.
[00:49:00] Speaker D: Or would you like.
[00:49:01] Speaker C: Great.
Wow. We're almost at the end of the mission.
[00:49:07] Speaker A: How does this look? Is it perhaps you prepared some, like, a special compartment to stow the orb away?
[00:49:21] Speaker B: Yes. As Magpie rolls the orb onto the barge, we open up a flap in the back, and there's a perfect two foot spherical hole waiting for it to pop in.
[00:49:34] Speaker A: And there's a really satisfying.
That slides in.
Are you pushing yourself as well? Atta.
[00:49:42] Speaker D: Yeah, I'll do that. So I do. Plus two dice on the thingy, right?
[00:49:48] Speaker A: Correct.
[00:49:48] Speaker D: Thank you.
[00:49:51] Speaker C: Oh, that's better.
[00:49:53] Speaker A: Okay, well, that is too stress for algonon, but with a partial success for the group, you manage to, like the barge kind of rolls into life and begins kind of trundling down the canal.
You make your way south towards waterside, and as you're going, you can hear the sounds of the commotion of this unexpected ghost attack disappearing off into the distance. As you go, you hear groups of city watch beginning to head over into dustry Hill, presumably as, like, backup and to investigate and whatnot. But off the back of that, you successfully escape.
And as you emerge onto the main river of Alicia and kind of begin drifting towards the far side of the river to unload on the southeastern side of the bottom half of waterside, you check to see if you're being followed. And there's no kind of city watch anywhere. There are a couple of dock workers kind of idly working, and you're able to move the crate, the perfectly sized crates with this orb, onto the dock. And as you dismount and kind of give a wave off to the bargeman, the barge kind of begins heading back towards Duskland.
But you do.
Like, as you're kind of unloading Algonon, presumably, I'm guessing you might not be doing the heavy lifting, you might be waiting for cavern to get this crate out. But as you're kind of looking and surveying the scene, you notice that on the bridge that crosses the river that connects the two halves of waterside, you see a figure wearing rather large frame, like large glasses.
The glasses darkens and obscures the majority of her face.
But in this moment, you can't help but shake the feeling that she's deliberately trying to get your attention.
And as you peer at her and wonder if it is in fact her, a crowd passes by her and she disappears into the crowds.
[00:52:56] Speaker C: Do we think that was our personal.
Sorry.
[00:53:00] Speaker B: You know, Algonon will be thinking about that later.
[00:53:04] Speaker A: And Algonon, you know, for the purposes of everyone, that it is not the lady in purple, but your other mysterious stranger.
You transfer the orb to the location given to you by musto, the cobbles.
As you kind of head up to, it's effectively just like a boathouse.
[00:53:37] Speaker B: Do we have the chance to spend any time with the orb and studying it a bit closer?
[00:53:43] Speaker A: If you want to take a bit of time after the stranger disappears.
[00:53:48] Speaker B: It's divination magic of some kind, and that's my province.
[00:53:53] Speaker A: Sure.
Mitch, cache, crack it open, if anyone.
Well, for those of you who are looking, you see the same thing that magpie saw, like a two foot ish orb with ringed by three large kind of gold rings with these fine arcane runes inscribed into it.
And atta, as you parrot it, you know, like, anyone who would know, you recognize this as like a detection device. Looking at the runes at her, like, you can start to kind of effectively. It's almost like the instruction manual, if you will.
But this large apparatus seems to detect the presence of arcane energy and it's kind of to translate it.
There's more activity within the orb in the presence of powerful manner. It doesn't seem to be activated right now because right now, obviously, it'd be throwing like crazy.
But there's a point where you think, why on earth would Musto want what is effectively an arcane divining rod?
[00:55:21] Speaker D: Does Musto have interest in the arcane, particularly?
[00:55:32] Speaker C: He must have a bit if he came to us.
And if he has something like this.
[00:55:41] Speaker A: Well, from what you know, collectively, you know of musto, it seems very out of character for him to be interested in something like this. Musto is a man of much more simple pleasures.
But, Magpie, your mind does cast back to the previous night when you were eavesdropping in on musto.
And you remember him mentioning the name Songbird.
Oh, she wouldn't be shit. Songbird's not going to be happy with that.
And you kind of got the impression that songbird has some sort of hold or sway over. Yeah, mustard.
[00:56:36] Speaker C: So it could well be that he's sort of dealing with something, holding onto items for this songbird character. Perhaps he's working under orders. Perhaps.
[00:56:49] Speaker A: So with that thought in mind, yes, you wonder if muster is, in fact, kind of working as an intermediary.
But just so you don't kind of draw too much attention, you know what it is. Now, if you wanted to do any research into it, you'll certainly be able to, but it's about time to hand it off.
There's, like, a fire sprite lady who's currently sat on the, like in this boathouse. Sat with her legs dangling over the, like, off the ledge into this water. There would normally be a boat in here, but currently there is not. And she's currently just, like, tearing up. She's got a bit of parchment, and she's just tearing bits off, scrunching them up in her fingers, and then, like, flicking them into the water and doing just, like, a little bit at a time.
And as you enter sheet.
Hello.
She looks you up and down.
Are you friends of ours?
[00:58:00] Speaker B: We're friends of Losto.
[00:58:05] Speaker A: Well, I expected you to be a bit later. What's going on out there? Sounds like a right commotion.
[00:58:13] Speaker B: Just a small skirmish. Nothing to be worried about.
[00:58:20] Speaker A: She accepts your answer at face value, and she kind of lifts herself off from ledge, walks over to the crate, rocks it a little bit.
I can't hear anything rattling around because it's a perfect fit. But she realizes that the weight of it shows that there must be something inside.
And she heads over to grab a satchel of coin. And just as she's about to give it to you, she stops and gives you an accusatory stare. And you're not trying to diddle us or anything, are you?
[00:58:58] Speaker B: We're not the diddlers here, madam. I think you might suspect your own boss of such things, but we are trustworthy.
[00:59:09] Speaker A: In which case, yeah. She hands you the satchel of coin, which contains six coin.
[00:59:15] Speaker D: Yay.
[00:59:16] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:59:19] Speaker A: I'll let the boss know that you delivered promptly in on time.
Now, unless there's anything you want, else you want. I recommend you sod off.
[00:59:38] Speaker D: Dan. Dan. Would there have been time to ponder this orb in transit?
[00:59:48] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:59:48] Speaker D: Okay, cool. Just check in. But I had orb pondering time.
[00:59:53] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
I'm assuming if you're carrying the crate.
Yeah, there would have been time, for sure.
In which case, as this fire sprite just kind of stands there looking at this box, trying to, you all leave. And you see her just as the door closes, looking at this box, realizing that she probably should have asked you to help her move it before she dismissed you. And as the door shuts, you see her, like, desperately trying to push it into. Out of the middle of the floor of this boathouse.
But, yeah, the door closes. And as you kind of. You can still just about hear. Like, you can see that the veil over dustry Hill just seems to be kind of, like, sparkling and is a bit more vibrant in color than elsewhere on the veil.
Is this a happy time for you all when completing a job or a pensive time because you've caused a ghost incursion?
[01:01:07] Speaker E: Don't worry about that later.
[01:01:09] Speaker C: I love how the people caused the ghost incursion. Don't care at all the rest of it.
[01:01:17] Speaker A: Okay, in which case, as the four of you give each other like, affirmative nods and you begin making your way back to Cadwalader manor or the specter.
[01:01:32] Speaker C: Probably Cadwallader, I'd think it's time for our downtime.
[01:01:36] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay, so in which case. Yeah, as the four of you begin making your way back to the ivory.
[01:01:43] Speaker B: Let's call it there, we flash back to Algonon buying six identical prams.
[01:01:55] Speaker A: Just procuring them from around the ivory, I suspect, like sneaking into the nurseries of the various mansions in the area.
Okay, so, yeah, as the four of you head back, we'll call it there.
Elsewhere in Alicia, looking out of an antique window in a well furnished and well lit room, grand marshal guillon Algarve gently swirls a wine glass filled with a rich red wine as he peers westwards towards the frenetic light that ripples across the veil.
And as he takes a sip, there's a deep sigh that emanates from him, and he turns to the woman that stood behind him as she takes off the large, wiped brimmed glasses that she was wearing.
You're certain it was them?
He asks, and the woman nods. Then it would seem that the secret about the veil is out.
Push forward the plans.
Whatever it takes.
I will see this city saved.
Congratulations, everyone, on completing episode three.
[01:03:51] Speaker C: Oh, boy. Look how stressed we all are.
[01:03:55] Speaker A: Look how stressed you all are.
[01:04:00] Speaker C: Playing the game.
[01:04:02] Speaker D: This level of stress is too familiar to like.
Sorry.
[01:04:09] Speaker A: What do you mean you're all fine? Just a little couple of drinkies, have a couple of little kisses.
[01:04:15] Speaker D: You'll be poor. Cavern's so close to the trauma.
[01:04:21] Speaker A: He's fine.
One of his eyes is involuntarily twitching, but he's fine.
Okay, well, yes, congratulations on completing a run. We will see what kind of entanglements you're caught up with. As a direct result. We'll have a look at your heat and so on and so forth. But I will say at the end of that session let's do a quick whip round of the XP that you would suggest that you have earned. So hopefully everyone has tacked a point of XP for each of the desperate roles that you made during that mission, starting with Ata.
How much xp do you think you've earned?
[01:05:08] Speaker D: Oh good grief. What are you asking me? First off, your playbook, I did one desperate role.
So one desk from my playbook. Let's just go ahead and double check because brains do be like that. I addressed a problem with arcane power. I think maybe just a tiny bit.
[01:05:37] Speaker A: Just a little bit.
[01:05:38] Speaker D: Yeah, I may have over.
[01:05:43] Speaker A: You did it to excess. Yeah. Okay. I'm happy with that. So that's two for your playbook because you literally pulled a ghost through the veil.
[01:05:50] Speaker D: I sure did.
[01:05:55] Speaker A: So you've got anything based on your vice?
[01:06:03] Speaker D: Well, I guess I didn't succumb to my vice and kind of make a bad choice.
I mean debatable, but I didn't necessarily make a bad choice based off of my vice. So yeah, I think that's, I would.
[01:06:21] Speaker A: Say that you express your belief, strives or heritage or background in kind of falling back on bubble to kind of save you fall back on the bubble. Let's say one from that as well. So total of four XP including your desperate role.
Awesome. Well, three XP plus your desperate roles, I should say. Cool Cavern, how do you think you.
[01:06:51] Speaker E: Did? So I did one desperate role. I did a desperate and I think I did a couple in deception. So obviously trying to deceive the shield and also doing the deceiving of running away and trying to get everyone to influence people to look in the opposite direction and totally not at Earth.
[01:07:12] Speaker A: Yeah, that tracks.
[01:07:16] Speaker E: Maybe even a little bit of background because I try to convey with people of the church.
[01:07:23] Speaker A: Yes, that was your angle.
[01:07:29] Speaker E: Three plus the desperate role.
[01:07:30] Speaker A: So four.
Sure. Yeah. There wasn't any tangles with the vital trauma okay, fab. Yeah. Three plus desperates.
Algonon.
[01:07:43] Speaker B: I didn't do any desperates. Everything I did was risky. Okay, so none there.
Calculation and conspiracy. I'd say maybe twice.
[01:07:54] Speaker A: Yeah. Everything you did basically was part of the master plan.
[01:08:00] Speaker B: And my belief strives heritage or background.
I leaned quite heavily on being an old Morton boy as a background. And also the thing that drives Algonon is like trying to save Alicia from the bubble and getting people to realise that it's failing I think is a mission for him.
[01:08:26] Speaker A: Going, yes. Okay. Okay. So I'd say, yeah, two for the playbook.
I'd probably even say two for beliefs and drives. Sure, I reckon. And then yeah, no vital traumas. Okay, fine. So for there and Magpie, I don't.
[01:08:48] Speaker C: Think I got so many this. I did one desperate, which I've.
It was a study.
And then, I mean, I did a bit of prowling around. I got up on the grooves, which is my favorite thing.
[01:09:06] Speaker A: Maybe one for that to be fair. I would say that again. You're also like everything you did was in the interest of not being discovered.
[01:09:16] Speaker C: Sure.
[01:09:16] Speaker A: So I would say playbook two.
[01:09:19] Speaker C: Okay, so what does that translate to in terms of where I put my xp and stuff?
[01:09:25] Speaker A: So you can put those wherever you like.
[01:09:26] Speaker C: Oh, can I get two?
[01:09:28] Speaker A: Yeah, two for your playbook. Did you express your drives beliefs, heritage or background?
[01:09:33] Speaker C: I'm not sure I did. Really.
[01:09:36] Speaker A: And then no vice or traumas? I don't believe.
So three for Magpie.
[01:09:42] Speaker C: Cool.
Including the desperate role.
[01:09:45] Speaker A: Sorry, plushie desperate. Okay, cool. And then we'll sort out freedom off cam.
Fab. So that is that. That's the first like your first solo mission and it went off without a hitch.
We'll see what kind of antagonists we get off the back of that. We'll see just how much heat you generated off the back of that.
But yeah, if you enjoyed this, make sure to hit the like button and comment down below.
On a scale of one to ten, how well you thought that went overall.
[01:10:28] Speaker C: I mean, we completed the mission, didn't we?
[01:10:33] Speaker A: Yes.
And if you want to see the other hijinks from this crew, make sure to hit the subscribe button and the bell icon for notifications of when we release new things because there's going to be loads and loads of stuff coming out. We just don't want you to miss out on it. So thank you for watching. Thank you all for playing.
See you next time. Bye.
